Improvement in the manufacture of plug and bunch tobacco



IQEPPINGER.

Manufacture of Plug and Bunch Tobacco.

Patented Feb. 25,1873..

Wbizsses ISAAC EPPINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

lfviiRVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLUG AND BUNCH TOBACCO.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,332, dated February 25, 1873.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, IsAAc EPPINGER, of

the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Smoking and Chewing Tobacco, or in the method of putting the same up in packages for smoking and chewing purposes 5 and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figures l and 2 are perspective views of a package or lump of tobacco prepared for the market and use in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same.

Certain varieties of tobacco are manufactured into twists or cords by spinning processes, whereby the leaves are variously folded or twisted, and according to the folds or twists they are distinguished by different names. Previous to the spinning process the leaves are flavored and rendered pliable by the application of a certain sweet saline liquor, which gives them a peculiar avor and color. Such twists or cords are then subjected to high pressure, the tendency of which is to darken the leaf,` which is extremely objectionable both to the consumer and the dealer. On the other hand, the pressure to which the tobacco is necessarily subjected, and consequent sweat, has a tendency to destroy the flavor which is so highly valued by the consumer.

'Ihe object of my invention, therefore7 is to manufact-ure tobacco in packages, 0r twists, or lumps, in such a manner as to obviate the above enumerated and other objections, inconveniences, and defects, which have heretofore attended the manufacture of twisted tobacco.

rThe manner in which I carry out myinvention is as follows: After treating the leaves with licorice and sugar, or other equivalent sweet mixture, as is well known to tobacco manufacturers, I form a cylindrical bunch or sheaf, A, of a length required or suitable for the size of the package to be produced. Around this bunch or sheaf I wind or coil a rope or cord of twisted or spun tobacco, B, so that it shall helically surround and inclose the bunch or sheaf, which thus forms the core of the package. The package thus formed is then subjected to pressure in a` suitable die or press, whereby a cylindrical (sec Fig. 2) or prismatical form (see Fig. l) is given to the whole block or lump. It may afterward be inclosed in tin-foil or paper, or both, when it will be ready for the market.

The advantages I derive from thus forming lumps or packages of tobacco are manifold. In the iirst place, the folds or strands maintain to a great extent their pliability after being pressed, which cannot be obtained in other tobacco, except at the sacrifice of the color and iiavor. The twist being pliable, the consumer is enabled to cut from it, without waste, smaller quantities for chewing or smoking purposes than in ordinary twists, and owing to its pliability the strand after being cut resumes its proper position snug against the core. Second, in the manufacture of tobacco according to my mode of forming the lumps or packages of twisted tobacco, it has been found to be more economical, since less pressure is required than in ordinary style of manufactured tobacco or twist. Third, tobacco is more or less sweated, and its color becomes more or less dark according to the pressure it is subjected to; hence,`

by my process, which requires much less pressure than by any other mode known of putting-up tobacco into packages, its natural and original brightness, and which is so highly Y valued by smokers and chewers, is preserved. Fourth, the cord or rope being coiled close together against a central core of tobacco, the tobacco is effectual] y preserved from mold or funk.

Having thus described my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. The method herein described of putting up tobacco into packages or lumps of a given form by ceiling a rope of twisted or spun tobacco around a core or bunch of tobacco, the whole being subjected to pressure, substantially as herein described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, tobacco prepared and put up in packages or lumps, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnessses. v

Witnesses: ISAAC EPPINGER.

WILLIAM W. PENDLETON, J No. H. Hermana, Jr, 

